Prehensile pipe-cleaning swab



se i. 18, 1951 Filed Oct. 4, 1946- a N a EB d M 2 Patented Sept. 18, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PREHENSILE PIPE-CLEANING SWAB Edward B'urke, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application October 4, 1946, Serial No. 701,241

chokes the free passage of the contents therefrom, or freeing the obstruction so that it can be washed out of the pipe.

The drawings show one embodiment of the invention, but in practice changes may be made in various particulars without deviating from the essential structure that characterizes the invention.

On the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side view of an implement according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a front view of same; and

Figure 3 shows the completed implement with a cloth gripping member in place thereon.

The implement comprises a long handle I of stiff but flexible material, such as rubber having some degree of hardness, or even strong wire coiled into the form of a helix of the required length. At one end is a flattened head 2 made of a plate of suitable material, such as thin steel, or any other strong and flexible substance. It is bent crosswise in the middle, as shown at 3, and doubled to bring its two opposite ends 4 together. These edges are superposed and are rounded as shown at 5. At the fold 3 the head 2 has a central opening 4 to receive the handle between the two halves of the head, which slidably engage the handle at the opening; and at its lower end, the handle and the rounded ends 5 of the head are secured together by a rivet 6.

.The opposite extremity of the blade or head 2 has square shoulders I at each side of the opening 4; and the entire head or blade 2 is enveloped and covered by a holding or gripping member, such as a cloth sleeve 8. This is slipped upon the head 2 along the handle I, having a hole 9, so that the sleeve can be draped upon the shoulders beside the opening 3. The sleeve extends beyond the rounded end 5, and there it is divided into a number of strips that are long enough to project beyond the blade or head 2 for a material distance. These strips form tentacles that play a large part in removing any obstructions in a drain or discharge conduit when the implement is used.

If the drain of a toilet bowl is clogged with paper, a childs shoe, hair brush or any other article such as may be dropped or carelessly thrown in, the implement is utilized by inserting the blade into the bowl and forcing it through the outlet opening. The discharge conduit leading therefrom is not a straight one, but the han- 2 Claims. (Cl. 104.3)

dle and to some extent the blade 2 will bend and can be forced in far enough to reach the obstruction. The latter can then be pushed till it is freed, and can be washed out by flushing the drain. If it is not cleared out by the flushing, the water so used will cause the tentacles IE] to be wrapped around the object. The latter is thus tied to the implement; and the obstruction can be easily pulled out. Turning the implement will assist in getting the desired result.

The shoulders I over which the cloth is draped prevent the sleeve 8 from being pulled off when the implement is withdrawn from the drain. If the shoulders strike against an edge inside the drain, or the bend therein is abrupt, the handle can be manipulated to rotate or otherwise shift the head till it is freed. The sliding connection of the plate 2 at its upper part allows the plate to slip along the handle to some extent, the two halves then bulging outward, as indicated by the broken lines in Figure 1. Hence, the implement when in use is not likely tofbe broken or damaged. The corners of the shoulders I may of course be rounded oil a little if desired.

The implement is thus well calculated to serve its purpose. It is inexpensive to make, easy and certain in operation, and makes a very practical adjunct for the equipment of a shop or dwelling.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new is:

1. A clearing implement comprising a flexible handle and a head made of a still but flexible plate bent double adjacent the middle thereof to bring the ends together, and riveted to the handle at said ends, the plate having an opening adjacent the middle to receive the handle in sliding engagement, the plate presenting shoulders adjacent said opening on both sides of the handle and a textile sleeve enveloping said head, engaging said shoulders and having tentacles projecting beyond the riveted end of the head.

2. The clearing implement according to claim 1, wherein the shoulders on the plate are angular and the ends riveted to the handle are rounded.

EDWARD BURKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 590,775 Sawyer Sept. 28, 1897 780,945 Fenton Jan. 24, 1905 849,786 Hildenbrand Apr. 9, 1907 1,035,994 Mueller Aug. 20, 1912 1,052,871 Wildau Feb. 11, 1913 1,175,726 Eckhardt Mar. 14, 1916 1,200,602 Freud Oct. 10, 1916 1,588,737 Hurd June 15, 1926 2,189,452 Stone Feb. 6, 1940 

